xSoulBane
Junior Member
- Sep 29, 2013
- 115
- 41
Hey forum, 
For all the people out there who can't afford to outsource a gig, and are not good at article writing --or in English, but would really like to create their own content; I thought that I could put this little didactic guideline on BHW, to show any of you who might be struggling in writing, how to write better. Now I may not be perfect at writing, but I sure as hell ain't terrible... However if I make a mistake, typo, or if i give bad advise let me know ASAP so that I may correct my mistake.
So one may as the question: "Who is this guy anyways?" or "What does he know about writing?"
...well, while I do not have a B.A in English, nor write professionally for any company; I certainly do know how English works and how to write well developed essays and articles.
I do have a content writing gig on another site but I wont link anything... lol some people tend to get really sensitive when they see clickable text. But I digress...
I know alot of kick-ass SEO'ers (if that's even a word) who create websites for people, but sometimes their English is--let's just say--under par.
So one may also ask: "If content is king then who cares how things are worded or how well things are written?
...well, if content is king... then quality is queen... and we all know a king is nothing without his queen.
anyhow--the larger idea here, is that the content needs to have quality... it need to be not only useful, but also engaging.
Take a look at Wikipedia for example. There's a hell-of-alot of content on Wikipedia right? Is it engaging? ...Well, not necessarily.
All post Panda/Penguin SEO'ers know that Google penalizes sites that have high bounce rates. One way to lower way to lower a site's bounce rate is to write quality content. So quality content---> Engaged readers-----> lower bounce rate.
We get the idea here, right? So without Further ado... here's my tips on content writing.
Example-"The quck brown fox jups over the lazy dog."
Diagnosis-Proofread everything and check for typographical misspellings.
Revision-"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
The Comma- The are a couple of reasons to use the comma, and it's definitely not to be overused. Here are the basic three usages:
Do not use commas when you need to "pause"
Eg. "My, Dog Chomper is, a very cute puppy."
Look how commas can change the meaning of a sentence:
In the first example we can see that the author is conspiring with an unidentified person to eat a grandmother. *chuckle*
In the second example the author is beckoning to eat with his/her grandmother.
-see... commas save lives
The Semicolon-Here is one punctuation sign that some people tend to spam when they don't know how to use. The two most basic usages for the semicolon, are these:
When you are writing, you must always specify pronouns. When you have antecedents of another person. It becomes confusing especially when we are talking about people of the same gender or multiple objects.
Example-"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, it was very happy."
Diagnosis-Specify the pronoun you are talking about. In this case it is the dog or the fox.
Revision-"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, the fox was very happy"
​Modifier errors occur when words clauses, or phrases are improperly separated from the word it describes. This error usually occurs when the author assumes that the reader knows what the author is taking about.
Example- "I saw sharks, scuba diving"
- The word "sharks" modifies the meaning of the sentence. since it is introductory material the reader believes that what comes after the comma is an extension of what is being introduced. The sentence literally means the author saw sharks scuba diving.
Diagnosis-Reword the sentence to re-define the meaning
Revision-"While scuba diving, I saw sharks."
-Now, the sentence means the author saw sharks while he was scuba diving.
Now this error, only applies to formal writing--which may or may not be used in your article. This error occurs when the author writes a slang word, that is not understood by all audiences.
Example- David was so hype to open his Christmas presents.
Diagnosis-The word "hype" is a slang term common to a few audiences (it means overly-excited).
Revision- David was elated to open his Christmas presents.
Examples: Their, They're, There | Accept, Except | Affect, Effect | Corrode, Erode
Diagnosis: Learn the definition of words before writing them
Revision: Apply what you have learned In your writing.
That about sums up everything for this post. I will respond to any questions that anyone may have.
The next post I will be talking about Introduction types and writing guidelines.
So If you have any questions let me know below. I hope that this helps some of you out!
Until next post.... Peace
Kindest Regards,
Soul
For all the people out there who can't afford to outsource a gig, and are not good at article writing --or in English, but would really like to create their own content; I thought that I could put this little didactic guideline on BHW, to show any of you who might be struggling in writing, how to write better. Now I may not be perfect at writing, but I sure as hell ain't terrible... However if I make a mistake, typo, or if i give bad advise let me know ASAP so that I may correct my mistake.
So one may as the question: "Who is this guy anyways?" or "What does he know about writing?"
...well, while I do not have a B.A in English, nor write professionally for any company; I certainly do know how English works and how to write well developed essays and articles.
I do have a content writing gig on another site but I wont link anything... lol some people tend to get really sensitive when they see clickable text. But I digress...
I know alot of kick-ass SEO'ers (if that's even a word) who create websites for people, but sometimes their English is--let's just say--under par.
So one may also ask: "If content is king then who cares how things are worded or how well things are written?
...well, if content is king... then quality is queen... and we all know a king is nothing without his queen.
anyhow--the larger idea here, is that the content needs to have quality... it need to be not only useful, but also engaging.
Take a look at Wikipedia for example. There's a hell-of-alot of content on Wikipedia right? Is it engaging? ...Well, not necessarily.
All post Panda/Penguin SEO'ers know that Google penalizes sites that have high bounce rates. One way to lower way to lower a site's bounce rate is to write quality content. So quality content---> Engaged readers-----> lower bounce rate.
We get the idea here, right? So without Further ado... here's my tips on content writing.
The Basics
So before I start talking about Introductions, there are a couple of ground rules that we need to know and be in control of while we are writing. These are things that will set you off as an idiot who does not know what he/she is talking about.
- Typographical errors
- The Comma and Semicolon
- Pronoun Usage
- Misplaced Modifiers
- Colloquialisms
- Diction Usage
Typographical Errors
This error also known as a "typo" is a mistake in the typing process, typically a misspelling but can also be a variety of other errors. I am admittedly someone who is guilty of this. Ironic--I might have a typo somewhere in this post!
Example-"The quck brown fox jups over the lazy dog."
Diagnosis-Proofread everything and check for typographical misspellings.
Revision-"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
The Comma and Semicolon
Errors occurring with commas and semicolons usually result from either typos or misunderstanding of proper usage.
The Comma- The are a couple of reasons to use the comma, and it's definitely not to be overused.
Here are the basic three usages:- To separate elements in a series:
Eg. "Tom ran to the store, bought his favorite brand of chicken salad, and ran back home."
- Use a comma with a coordinating conjunction (and, but, yet, for, or, so) to connect two independent clauses:
Eg. "The salad that Tom ate was soggy, but Tom still enjoyed it."
- Use the comma for introductory material:
Eg. "At only five years old, Chicken salad, was Toms favorite food."
Do not use commas when you need to "pause"
Eg. "My, Dog Chomper is, a very cute puppy."
Look how commas can change the meaning of a sentence:
"Let's eat grandma!"
vs
"Let's eat, grandma!"
vs
"Let's eat, grandma!"
In the first example we can see that the author is conspiring with an unidentified person to eat a grandmother. *chuckle*
In the second example the author is beckoning to eat with his/her grandmother.
-see... commas save lives
The Semicolon-Here is one punctuation sign that some people tend to spam when they don't know how to use. The two most basic usages for the semicolon, are these:
- Use a semicolon to join two or more independent clauses:
Eg. "My neighbor had a very pimply face; He never used to wash it."
- we see each independent clause highlighted in blue and green respectively; they are joined by a semicolon.
- Eg. "My brothers Steve, Earl, and Carl, were born on Januay 5, 1985 ; September 9, 1972; and December 17, 1995; respectively.
-Just so that that no one is confused by a plethora of commas... we use the semicolon
*Heres a tip, If you are really struggling with comma and semicolon usage--feel free to use a dash. I do it all the time* Dashes are denoted with two hyphens (--)
​Pronoun Usage
When you are writing, you must always specify pronouns. When you have antecedents of another person. It becomes confusing especially when we are talking about people of the same gender or multiple objects.
Example-"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, it was very happy."
Diagnosis-Specify the pronoun you are talking about. In this case it is the dog or the fox.
Revision-"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, the fox was very happy"
Misplaced Modifiers
​Modifier errors occur when words clauses, or phrases are improperly separated from the word it describes. This error usually occurs when the author assumes that the reader knows what the author is taking about.
Example- "I saw sharks, scuba diving"
- The word "sharks" modifies the meaning of the sentence. since it is introductory material the reader believes that what comes after the comma is an extension of what is being introduced. The sentence literally means the author saw sharks scuba diving.
Diagnosis-Reword the sentence to re-define the meaning
Revision-"While scuba diving, I saw sharks."
-Now, the sentence means the author saw sharks while he was scuba diving.
Colloquialisms
Now this error, only applies to formal writing--which may or may not be used in your article. This error occurs when the author writes a slang word, that is not understood by all audiences.
Example- David was so hype to open his Christmas presents.
Diagnosis-The word "hype" is a slang term common to a few audiences (it means overly-excited).
Revision- David was elated to open his Christmas presents.
Diction Usage
Errors associated with diction can be tough to control, this is largely due to the fact that diction errors are of the only errors that you have to know, to be in control of.
Examples: Their, They're, There | Accept, Except | Affect, Effect | Corrode, Erode
Diagnosis: Learn the definition of words before writing them
Revision: Apply what you have learned In your writing.
That about sums up everything for this post. I will respond to any questions that anyone may have.
The next post I will be talking about Introduction types and writing guidelines.
So If you have any questions let me know below. I hope that this helps some of you out!
-Btw this is an original post...not copy&paste from Google-
Until next post.... Peace
Kindest Regards,
Soul
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